Wellpoint (Amerigroup) Home Care in Texas: STAR+PLUS In-Home Services
If you or a loved one has Wellpoint STAR+PLUS — the Texas Medicaid plan formerly known as Amerigroup — and needs help at home, you can get trained in-home caregivers through your plan. Newport Home Health is in-network with Wellpoint STAR+PLUS and has spent 17 years helping Texas Medicaid families get dependable care at home.
We bill Wellpoint directly, so for covered services under your plan, you typically pay $0 out of pocket. This page explains the Amerigroup-to-Wellpoint name change, what Wellpoint STAR+PLUS covers at home, how authorization works through your service coordinator, and how family members can become paid caregivers. Wellpoint is one of several plans we work with — see the full list of insurance and programs Newport accepts.
Ready to start? Call 972-602-3500 or use the quick form below — we can usually verify your Wellpoint coverage the same business day.
Wellpoint Is Amerigroup’s New Name in Texas Medicaid
If your Medicaid ID card or paperwork still says Amerigroup, you’re in the right place. In 2024, Amerigroup’s Texas Medicaid plans were renamed Wellpoint. It’s the same health plan under a new name — members kept their coverage, benefits, and service coordinators through the change, and nothing about your eligibility changed because of the rebrand. So whether you call it Amerigroup or Wellpoint, the answer is the same: Newport is in-network and can provide your in-home care.
What Wellpoint STAR+PLUS Covers at Home
STAR+PLUS is the Texas Medicaid managed-care program for adults who are 65 or older or who have a disability, and Wellpoint is one of the health plans that runs it. For members who qualify, Wellpoint covers personal attendant services — hands-on, non-medical help at home with everyday living. In plain English, that means a caregiver who comes to the house on a set schedule and helps with things like:
- Bathing, dressing, and grooming — safe, respectful help with personal care
- Meal preparation and eating — cooking, feeding assistance, and cleanup
- Mobility and transfers — moving safely between bed, chair, and bathroom
- Light housekeeping and laundry — keeping the living space safe and clean
- Medication reminders — prompts to take medications on schedule
- Errands and escort — grocery runs and accompaniment to appointments
Wellpoint STAR+PLUS can also cover respite care — a professional caregiver steps in for a scheduled break so a family caregiver can rest, work, or travel.
One honest note: exactly which services you receive, and how many hours, is decided by Wellpoint — not by any home-care agency. Coverage is based on Wellpoint’s assessment of your needs and your individual service plan. What Newport controls is the quality of the caregivers and the reliability of every authorized visit.
How It Works With Your Wellpoint Service Coordinator
Every Wellpoint STAR+PLUS member has a service coordinator — a plan employee who manages long-term services and supports. The path to in-home care runs through them:
- Assessment. Your Wellpoint service coordinator reviews your needs — usually through an in-person or phone assessment — and determines what in-home services you qualify for.
- Authorization. Wellpoint authorizes a specific number of attendant hours per week and sends that authorization to the home-care agency you choose.
- Care begins. Newport matches you with a caregiver, builds the schedule around your authorization, and verifies every visit through Texas’s required electronic visit verification (EVV) system.
Newport coordinates directly with plan service coordinators every week — checking authorizations, reporting changes, and keeping care moving. If you don’t know who your service coordinator is, call the member-services number on the back of your Wellpoint ID card and ask — or call us and we’ll help you sort it out. New to STAR+PLUS? Start with our guide to Medicaid home care coverage in Texas.
Choosing Newport (or Switching) Under Wellpoint
Under STAR+PLUS, you choose your home-care agency — not the plan. Whether you’re setting up in-home care for the first time or you’re unhappy with your current agency’s no-shows, revolving caregivers, or poor communication, choosing Newport works the same way, and your authorization follows you. Done right, there is no gap in care:
- Call Newport at 972-602-3500. We confirm your Wellpoint coverage and any current authorization — usually the same business day.
- Tell Wellpoint you’re choosing Newport. You (or we, together with you) notify your Wellpoint service coordinator that you want Newport Home Health as your agency.
- We coordinate the start date. If you’re switching, Newport schedules your caregiver to begin as the old agency’s services end — same authorized hours, new agency, no gap when the transfer is coordinated.
We serve Wellpoint members across the Dallas–Fort Worth area and Houston.
Family Caregivers Under Wellpoint
Many STAR+PLUS members would rather be cared for by someone they already trust — a daughter, son, sibling, or friend. Texas Medicaid allows this, and Newport sets it up for families every week. Under the agency option, Newport hires your family member as a caregiver on our team: we handle the background check, training, scheduling, payroll, and EVV compliance, and family caregivers we employ typically earn $13–14 per hour caring for their own loved one.
Texas also offers Consumer Directed Services (CDS), where the member or their representative becomes the employer and directs the caregiver themselves. Read our step-by-step guide to becoming a paid caregiver for a family member in Texas — and if you found this page searching for CDPAP, see why Texas’s version of CDPAP is called CDS.
Wellpoint Home Care in Texas — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wellpoint the same as Amerigroup?
Yes. Wellpoint is the new name for Amerigroup’s Texas Medicaid plans — the rebrand happened in 2024. Your coverage, benefits, and service coordinator carried over; only the name on the card changed. If your ID card still says Amerigroup, everything on this page applies to you.
Does Wellpoint cover home care in Texas?
Yes. Wellpoint’s Texas STAR+PLUS plan covers in-home personal attendant services and respite care for members who qualify. Wellpoint determines eligibility and authorizes services after an assessment by your service coordinator — and Newport, as an in-network Wellpoint provider, delivers the care and bills Wellpoint directly.
How many hours will Wellpoint approve?
There’s no set number, and any agency that promises one isn’t being straight with you. Hours are based on Wellpoint’s assessment of your needs: your service coordinator reviews your situation and authorizes a specific number of attendant hours. What we can promise is this — we coordinate closely with your coordinator, and we reliably staff every hour Wellpoint authorizes.
Can Wellpoint pay a family member to be my caregiver?
In many cases, yes. Newport can hire your family member under the agency option — typically at $13–14 per hour — or your family can employ them directly through Consumer Directed Services (CDS). Standard hiring requirements, including a background check, apply. Here’s the full step-by-step guide.
Check Your Wellpoint Coverage — Get a Call Back Today
Tell us a little about your situation and a member of our team will call you back — usually the same business day. Please don’t include medical details in this form; we will cover those by phone.
No cost, no obligation — bilingual staff available.